Miami Dolphins: 5 statistics that must change

Coach Adam Gase talks with Ryan T of the Miami Dolphins talks to Ryan Tannehill during a timeout in the 1st quarter against the Cleveland Browns on September 25, 2016 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)

Dolphins coach Adam Gase is trying to help quarterback Ryan Tannehill reach the playoffs for the first time in his career. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)

I was speaking with a few Miami Dolphins on Friday about how first-year coach Adam Gase was dealing with a 1-3 mark at the quarter-pole of the NFL season. Gase has the pressure of calling plays. And having faced Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick in his first two games. And meeting three playoff teams, perhaps two Super Bowl contenders, on the road, in what seems a bit unfair.

At times it seems Gase is perplexed by the number of players who fail to execute as they are instructed. He’s tried so many different things and so little has actually worked. The consensus seems to be that yes, Gase is youthful, fiery and energetic. But with Miami at or near the bottom of the league in so many categories, a key is this: Gase has, according to the players, stayed on message, strategic and level-headed.

“He’s tried to keep us calm and not lose our minds,” linebacker Neville Hewitt said. “He’s honest with us in telling us what we need to fix.”

The opportunity exists, with four consecutive home games against teams that entered Sunday with a combined record of 5-7, to show marked improvement and perhaps even hit the halfway mark at 4-4.

For that to happen, The Dolphins must improve these five statistics:

Third-down offense (28 percent, 32nd in the NFL). Like Gase, Dolphins offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen is a direct and candid guy. Last week, Christensen said: “We’ve been anemic on third down. Those are crushers, because all of a sudden you look up and there’s not enough carries for a running back, there’s not enough balls to go around, there’s not enough time of possession, there’s not enough anything.” Gase has admitted some frustration in play-callling and an impatience that has led to an imbalance between passing and running. Miami has a weakness at tight end recieving. And quarterback Ryan Tannehill simply needs to be more accurate and more effective on third down, under immense pressure or not. DeVante Parker needs to emerge as a threat in this area.

First-half points per game (5.8, 31st in the NFL) Miami has gotten off to terribly slow starts. Through four games, the Dolphins have scored 14 points in the first quarter and 9 points in the second quarter for a total of 23-first half points. That’s unacceptable. Most of Miami’s offensive success has come late in games, when forced to go up-tempo. Some believe the Dolphins offense is too ineffective to go fast too often. I say, “Why not try?”

Opposing rushing yards per game (129.8, 28th in the NFL) Miami made some strides in this category against Cincinnati and frankly, there was nowhere to go but up. Dolphins coaches have tried to stress the importance of detail and the importance of following the intended structure and assignments of the “Wide Nine” defense. They’ve tried to talk about fitting into the proper gaps and better tackling (they can’t really tackle in practice) and limiting yards after catch. Mario Williams did not seem too interested in run defense early in the season though he made improvement in Thursday’s game. Miami does not really trust Cameron Wake, their most skilled defensive linemen aside from Ndamukong Suh, to play regular run downs.

Quarterback sacks allowed (11, 30th in the NFL) And to think I was raving in this space about how Miami was on track to allow the fewest sacks per pass attempt in the Tannehill era. Then Cincinnati and five sacks happened. Granted, there was a patchwork offensive line in place. And Tannehill didn’t get always get rid of the ball quickly enough or protect the ball well enough. There is hope that the return of center Mike Pouncey next Sunday will aid in the cohesiveness of the unit. Laremy Tunsil may be a fixture on the line for the next decade. Ja’Wuan James need to rediscover his mojo quickly.

Turnover margin per game (-1.2, 26th in the NFL) The thought was Tannehill would be empowered by Gase to make some more aggressive decisions and even if it resulted in a few more turnovers, it would be worth it. But a few of Tannehill’s interceptions have been hard to understand and very damaging. Tannehill’s five interceptions leave him tied for fourth in the NFL entering Sunday action. Defensively, the Dolphins have forced six fumbles but only recovered three, and only picked up one interception in four games. There’s been so much focus on executing a new system and trying desperately to improve in run defense. But at some point, Miami needs a force a few momentum-changing turnovers.